The arguments for and against, Recruitment and conscription, Australia and World War I, History, NSW Introduction The Australian Prime Minister William Hughes' call for conscription was a consequence of heavy Australian casualties being experienced on the Western Front in World War I and a decline in volunteers to enlist to fight at home.

The Vietnam War was the longest conflict in which Australians have been involved; it lasted ten years, from 1962 to 1972, and involved some 60,000 personnel. A limited initial commitment of just 30 military advisers grew to include a battalion in 1965 and finally, in 1966, a task force.